


Waves

by HaleyBuckley



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: AU, Buddie lifeguard AU, M/M, buddie AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25514623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaleyBuckley/pseuds/HaleyBuckley
Summary: Buddie lifeguard AU
Relationships: Buddie - Relationship, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 34
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie was sure he only looked away for like five seconds to get the sun creme out of his bag but when he turns back around Chris is no where to be seen.

His heart stops for a second and it’s hard to breath. He jumps up from the ground, his eyes roaming over the beach. He doesn’t dare do think about Chris going near the water on his own. He feels sick and his heart beats like he’s been running a marathon.

He can’t see the familiar brown curls anywhere and he starts running around wildly to find his son.

He stumbles into to people, asks them if they seen a kid, 8 years, brown curls, red glasses, but no ones seen him.

He’s just gone.

Eddie puts his hands on his head, squeezing his eyes shut. He can’t lose his son, he’d die without his son, he can’t. What is he gonna do?

Suddenly there’s a touch against his shoulder and his eyes snap open.

He sees a kid being carried by someone, wrapped in a towel and wearing a sun hat.

Eddie immediately recognizes the brown curls and the red glasses sitting on the kids nose.

Tears shoot into his eyes and his knees almost buckle under the relief he feels.

“Chris?”

The kid lifts his head and Eddie doesn’t need a second to put his arms towards his son and lifts him into his arms. He holds him tight and doesn’t want to let go. Chris arms are around his neck and Eddie promises himself to never let him go.

“I’m sorry dad, I just wanted some ice cream.”

Eddie presses his face against the kids shoulder and a quiet sob escapes his mouth.

“Please, never do that again, kid. You scared me to death.”

Chris pats him on his back.

“I’m sorry dad. I really got lucky that Buck found me. He even let me wear his sun hat.”

“Who’s Buck?”

Eddie rapidly lifts his head up and only notices now the man standing in front of them.

“Hi. Buck, erm, that’s me.”

The man smiles at him and Eddies eyes wander over his face. He’s got a soft face, some stubbles on his sharp jawline and Eddie notices the mark over his left eye. He stops when he reaches his eyes because he thinks he’s never seen more beautiful eyes. They’re crystal clear and sparkle like stars. 

Eddies voice get stucks in his throat and he doesn’t know how to form words anymore.

“I .. um .. where? erm …”

“I found him next to the ice cream shop and he was yellling for his dad. I’m a lifeguard and I happily agreed to help him find his dad.”

Eddie sees the red swim trunks, the man - Buck, is wearing and the swim buoy on his back. There’s a radio strapped with a leather belt over his chest.

“Oh. Erm, thanks, thank you for helping him. Thank you.”

Buck grins and looks at Chris.

“Don’t wander off again young man, when your dad doesn’t know where you’re going, ok?”

Buck lifts his hand for a high five and Chris turns towards Buck to smack his hand against his. 

“Thank you, Buck.”

The man nods and smiles again. Eddie can’t help but notice how warm his smile looks. How his eyes shine when he looks at his son. It also doesn’t get unnoticed that he’s carrying around two huge arms and his chest and tummy are well trained. His dark blond hair shines in the sun and Eddie blushes a bit.

“Ok, gotta get back to my post now, still on shift. You two stay safe, allright.”

Buck quickly waves with his hand and starts walking.

Eddie almost stumbles over his own feet when he grabs for the other mans shoulder.

“Buck, wait. Your, your sun hat.”

Buck’s skin feels hot to the touch and Eddie realizes he’s still holding at the other mans shoulder.

Buck smiles again and it makes something move in Eddies chest.

“It’s ok, he can keep it. Maybe we’ll see us again.”

He winks at Chris and moves forward, Eddies hand slipping off his shoulder.

Eddie watches Buck walk through the hot sand over to his post again. He stops a couple of times to talk to people. Eddie not once looks away from him, till the man disappears over a dune.

He nervously rubs at his hands.

When did they get sweaty?

Eddie turns around and sees his son already putting suncreme on his arms and grinning at him.

Eddie coughs slighty.

“You think you wanna come here again tomorrow, kiddo?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey Chris, come sit down so I can put the sun creme on your back. You don’t want to get sunburned do you?”

His son sits himself down in front of him and Eddie gently rubs the creme on his skin. His eyes wander over the beach in hope to see one certain lifeguard. He’s not to be seen anywhere though and Eddie can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

He’s been thinking about “Buck” the last couple of days. Specifically about the blue of his eyes, never leaving his mind. Chris even told Carla about his saviour from a couple of days ago and Eddie couldn’t stop smiling. 

Sadly they didn’t manage to visit the beach the other day and Buck probably has already forgotten them.

“Now it’s your turn, daddy.”

His son stops his train of thoughts and reaches for the sun creme. Eddie turns around so Chris can rub the creme on his back. Chris giggles when he paints a smiley on his fathers back.

“You forgot the mouth buddy. Need to be a smiling one, like the beautiful smile your dad has, huh.”

Eddie startles when he feels a soft touch on his back. A finger drawing a smiley mouth on his back. He turns around hastily and knocks the sun creme out if Chris hand. 

Next to his son, kneeling in the sand, is Buck. His hair is wet and water pearls are clinging onto his skin. Resting their and make his skin sparkle in the sun. The swim buoy is strapped on his back again and the belt of the radio sits tight around his torso. Eddie notices the other man’s tattoos for the first time. Bucks muscles move when he reaches for the sun creme to give it back to Chris.

“Sorry bud, didn’t mean to startle you.”

Bucks eyes are crystal clear. Eddie thinks they’re actually like diamonds. He’s got a soft smile on his face and Eddie is mesmerized by the pink color of his lips.

“You ok?”

Eddie blinks himself back to reality and coughs awkwardly.

“Yes, yes of course. I’m … I’m Eddie, by the way.”

Eddie moves his hand towards Buck and sees the other man chuckle softly. Why on earth was he waiting for a handshake. Very smooth Edmundo.Very smooth.

Buck moves forward and takes his hand. His fingers are softly running over Eddies knuckles and it sends shivers down his arm.

“It’s nice to meet you - again, Eddie.”

Bucks hand feels nice in his. His fingers are strong but his skin is soft. He lets out a quiet breath when buck lets go of his hand.

“Dad, you gonna get a smile sunburn on your back, we need to rub it in.”

Chris moves Eddies shoulders so his back is exposed to Buck again. Chris struggles to get the sun creme everywhere.

“Can I help?”

Eddie swallows and nods shily, being aware that he’s half naked in front of Buck and he hasn’t been to the gym for weeks. Not that he’s not fit but he can’t compete with Buck and Eddie suddenly feels insecure.

Eddies skin feels electric when Bucks hands rub against his back. The motions are soft and he feels Bucks thumb making tiny circles on his back.

”There you go Chris. Your dads all save against the sun now.“

They both share a high five clap and Eddie manages to turn himself around again.

”Are you, are you here often?“

Eddie rolls his eyes at himself. What happened to him being the king of flirting. Carla always teases him about it. 

Buck is different though. With Buck things feel deeper in some way Eddie can’t explain.

Buck laughs and Eddie can see the whites of his teeth. The birthmark above his eye stands out against his light skin and Eddie thinks how beautifully it frames his eye. He wonders how Buck feels about it because he’d hate it if Buck would feel bad about it. 

“Yeah, yeah I work here on this disrtict of the beach.”

“Oh, right.”

Eddie blushes and feels like an idiot, of course he knows that Buck works here. Not like he hasn’t checked the webpage for the lifeguard team on this beach.

“Is this like your favorite place to come to the beach?” Buck asks while he’s handing a shell lying next to him to Chris. The kid smiles and puts it on his little sandcastle he’d built next to them.

“It’s a nice place here and it’s not far from our house.”

Buck nods but gets distracted when his radio comes to life and someone asks for him to come back to his post.

Buck gets up from the sand and Eddie gets a closer look to the other man’s leg and notices a long scar running from his kneecap down to his shin and ends in a curl around his ankle. It looks all healed and Buck doesn’t twinche when he gets up so the injury must be an old one. It still looks like it’s been a dangerous one.

Eddie watches the other man pat his son softly on the head.

“You two have a good day. And be careful with the sun.”

Chris waves Buck goodbye.

The other man takes a step away to leave but then turns around to look at Eddie again.

“There this new beach bar on the south avenue. You should try it out someday. It’s my sisters and I think you might like it there.”

Buck winks at him and Eddie feels himself blushing a bit. Or maybe a lot. His face feeling hot and not just because of the sun.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.

Eddie watches again how Buck leaves and when he’s gone he grabs his phone and googles for the bar. It’s called “Buckley’s” and it looks really nice.

If this is his sisters bar Buck might be around too, maybe. Eddie shakes his head at himself. He feels like a friggin teenager again, who’s got a crush on the new guy. He can’t help it though, Buck is gorgeous and additionally he is good with with kids. A guy made of dreams as Carla would say. He smiles. He couldn’t let that go, could he.

A waterball hitting his face brings him back.

“Daaadd, dad can we go to the water now?”

He gets up and helps Chris get up too.

“Yes, yes of course kiddo.”

He makes a silent note to ask Carla later if she can watch Chris because he can’t let this go, can he.


	3. Chapter 3

“Eddie, your hair looks perfect as always.”

Eddie rolls his eyes at his friend but looks one more time in the rear view mirror to make sure his hair does look good.

“Are we actually going inside or? I didn’t wanna spend my evening in your car man.”

Chimney bumps his fist against his shoulder and laughs. His friend was excited to finally have Eddie going out again. It’s been a couple of hard months and Eddie had no place in his mind for going out or meeting new people.Tonight he just called his friend to be his wingman to go out and Chimney agreed happily.

Eddie unbuckles his seatbelt and the two men get out of the car. It’s nearing 9 pm and the sunset is already visible in the sky, making the clouds look orange and pink. 

Eddie just stands there for a bit to look at the nice scenery. The bar is almost at the beach, you can see the blue waves crashing down on the shore in the background. It’s a wodden house and the roof is made of straw. There are surfboards at the front and the door actually looks like saloon doors.The big sign over the entrance is styled like a graffiti and Eddie reads it in his mind. 

Buckley’s. 

It echoes in his head and he likes the sound of it. He just realizes now that this must be the reason of Bucks name. 

Chimney grabs his arm and pushes him forward to move. They quickly head inside and Eddie ducks his head away, being insecure about what to find inside. Was Buck already there?

The room is big with loads of tables. There’s a pool table in the middle and the back window covers almost the whole length of the building. It’s half open and you can see the ocean. It even smells like salty sea water in the room. The tables are made of surfboards and everywhere are flowers. It looks soft and warm and Eddie likes it.

There are not many costumers around at the moment. A couple of people are sitting at the tables and some people are playing pool.

Eddie and Chimney sit down at a table at the big window and Eddie’s distracted for a second by the beautiful view.

“Hi boys, I’m Maddie, what can I get you?”

Chimney blushes and Eddie notices that his friend seems to have found a liking for the woman asking for their orders.

The woman is tall, with brown long hair, falling down on her shoulders in long waves, her brown eyes are sparkling. She smiles and Eddie can cleary see now, that this must be Bucks sister. Her smile is similiar to Bucks, kind and warm and she’s got tiny freckles around her nose.

Chimney orders himself a beer and Eddie some water since he’s got an afternoon shift tomorrow and he’s really not up for a hangover.

A couple of minutes later the woman, Maddie, brings over the drinks and they chat about their day.

Eddie notices that Chimney keeps on looking over to the bar where Maddie is working.

“You like her?”

Chimney takes a sip from his beer.

“She’s really beautiful but man her smile is really it. It’s like you can see her heart in there. She looks so kind and warm.”

Eddie knows because he’s feeling the same about Bucks smile. It’s infectious and makes you feel like they can take all your sorrows away. It reaches your soul and makes you feel fuzzy and warm.

“Ahaaa, someone’s had some love powder in their drink, huh.”

Eddie jokes and Chimney scoffs at him.

“Talking about love. What’s going on in your love life, Diaz? I was surprised you asked me to go out.”

Eddie sighs but gives his friend a small smile. This teammates love to tease him about his love life and sometimes it really goes on Eddies nerves, if he’s honest. He knows they don’t mean it in a mean way, but still. Things just haven’t been easy for him the last couple of months.

“Nothing is going on Chim, I’m good on my own, I guess.”

Chimney laughs out loud and holds his beer bottle up for Eddie to clink his glass against it, that’s when he sees him.

He’s walking through the front door, two beer crates sitting on his shoulders, left and right. His white tank top is sitting tight around his torso and Eddie can see the shadows of his abs against it. His biceps are strained and hard, with holding the weight on his shoulders. The blue shorts, he’s wearing, are sitting loosely on his hips. His soft curls are gelled back a bit and Eddie likes this look. He’s smiling and the people he passes greet him friendly. He walks behind the bar and puts the beer crates down. Maddie walks over and kisses him on the cheek. They hug and Buck disappears into the back room after he bumps fists with the other staff members.

“Earth to Eddie, you still there?”

Eddie movies his head around and looks at his friend confused.

“What?”

“And you’re asking me if I had some love powder in my drink?!”

Eddie blushes and feels a bit embarrassed. Did he look so obvious at Buck walking in? It’s like he can’t stop it, like he’s drawn towards Buck where ever he sees him.

“Do you know this guy Eds?”

Eddie scratches at his head and blinks nervously.

“Yeah, kinda. I met him at the beach two times now. He helped me find Chris when he was wandering around at the beach and I’d lost him for a second.”

“The saving knight in the white armour then.“

Chimney laughs out loud and slams his hands on the table.

“Anyway, get me some water please.”

Eddie tries to change the topic and pushes his empty glass over to Chimney who grunts at him but gets up and walks over to the bar. He watches his friend sit down at the bar stool and sees him clearly flirting with Maddie. 

He looks around for Buck but the other man hadn’t shown up again, yet. Eddie looks out of the window, enjoying the view again. It’s getting darker outside and the sun must be going down in a bit. Eddie closes his eyes for a bit to listen to the sounds of the waves. It’s calming.

A loud noise in front of him startles him and when he opens his eyes Buck is sitting in front of him pushing a glass of water over the table.

“Hey you.”

Eddie grabs the glass and almost spills the water over his hand when he pulls it over to his side.

“Hi, erm thanks for the water.”

Buck smiles at him, eyes wide and blue and Eddie is suddenly super distracted by how pink the other man’s lips are.

“It’s cool that you came around to check out this place, I appreciate it and my sister really needs the costumers if I’m honest. So thanks.”

Eddie watches Bucks lips move and wonders what they taste like.

“Hey, are you ok Eddie?”

Eddie looks up and realises that Buck probably had talked to him for a bit and he hasn’t answered yet. He blinks awkwardly and coughs slightly.

“Yeah, of course. My friend wanted to go out anyway and the bar sounded cool when you told me about it. And it’s really nice here. The view is outstanding.”

Buck looks out of the window and the sun reflects in his eyes and Eddie almost feels like he’s blinded by how pretty they are. He needs to pinch himself somewhere because he feels like a freaking teenager having a crush. What is happening to him. He hasn’t felt like this in forever.

“Yeah, it’s really beautiful, isn’t it. The ocean is just incredible. It’s this huge force of nature, dangerous but so beautiful.”

Buck looks back inside over to the bar where they can hear Chimney and Maddie laugh together loudly.

“Guess you’re friend likes the view too. He a good guy? Otherwise I have to break his nose when he’s gonna make my sister sad.”

Buck looks serious at him and Eddie swallows nervously.

“No he - he’s a really nice guy. It’s just been a while since he was out seeing women. And -”

Buck laughs and brushes his hand over Eddies forearm. His fingers are warm against his skin and it feels electric when he touches him. Eddie stares at his arm where Bucks fingers just touched him. Suddenly the other man grabs his arm again.

“Come on, I wanna show you something.”

Eddie looks over to the bar but Chimney seems to be busy with talking to Maddie. He’s smiling and laughing and it’s nice to see his friend being so carefree and happy.

Buck lets go of his arm and gets up. Eddies hand feels cold now and he misses the warm touch on his skin. He gets up from his chair and quietly follows Buck out of the bar, through the backdoor. They walk over a tiny path through the beach and climb up a small hill when Buck suddenly stops and Eddie stumbles against the other man.

Bucks arms move around him keeping him steady to prevent him from falling over.

“You ok?”

Eddie nods and steadies himself.

“Yeah, just tripped.”

When Buck moves to the side and out of his view Eddie can see whats in front of them. The view is breath-taking, even more beautiful than from the bar window. The sun is about to go under and the light reflects itself in the water. It looks golden and shiny. He looks over to the other man again who is sitting on a piece of rock now. His eyes roam over the water. The golden light is making his skin gleam and he looks magical.

“This is a beautiful place, Buck.”

Eddie sits down next to the other man. He almost seems to be like he’s in trance and Eddie thinks Buck doesn’t even realize he’s sitting next to him but then he starts speaking.

“I used to come here a lot when I was younger. To find quiet and peace. I’ve never showed this place to anyone before, you know. It’s special.”

He looks over to Eddie, eyes wide.

“I don’t know but - I thought it’d be nice to show it to you.”

Eddie blushes and fidgets around with his fingers in his lap.

“Thanks, it’s really pretty here.”

“So tell me something about you Eddie? Besides having the best kid ever. That kids gonna go big one day, I can tell you that.”

Eddie presses his hand against the stone to stop them from moving around. It makes his heart jump when Buck talks about his son. They way Buck acts with his son means a lot to Eddie and it seems all so natural for Buck. 

“I only moved here 8 months ago with Chris. We needed to get away from our old home and make a new start. Chris always loved the ocean, the water making it easer for him to move around with his CP. Also I found a nice job at a fire station.”

“You’re a firefighter?”

Bucks fingers bump against his own, resting on the cold stone. Eddie nods.

“I used to be firefighter too, but I was injured on duty and I can’t work full time as a firefighter anymore, that’s why I became a lifeguard part time and help Maddie at the bar.”

Eddie remembers the huge scar on Bucks left leg and can’t help but look down to the other mans feet.

He swallows hard when he thinks he had made Buck uncomfortable by looking at his leg, but when he looks up again Buck smiles at him.

“It’s ok now. It threw me off for a while but with my sisters help and good doctors I came back and it’s really ok now. It doesn’t hurt anymore at least not often and I can work as a lifeguard. So it’s ok.”

Buck keeps on smiling at him but Eddie can see a tiny hint of pain sitting there. Suddenly his heart hurts a bit when thinks about Buck being seriously hurt, being lost after the injury.

“I’m glad you’re ok, Buck.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Buck puts his litte finger over Eddies and he feels this electric spark on his skin again. 

“So, do you like it here, Eddie?”

Eddie’s still looking at their hands, not wanting to lose the other man’s touch.

“Yeah I do. I’ve met a lot of nice people here.”

Buck chuckles and rubs his little finger over Eddies again.

“Give me your phone?”

Eddie looks up in confusion but gets his phone out of his pocket anyway. Buck takes it out of his hand and shuffles over, closer to Eddie. Their shoulders are touching and he can feel Buck’s arm muscles move against his arm. Buck holds the phone in front of them, leaning his head on Eddies shoulder. He takes a picture of the two of them, writes something on his phone and carefully slides the phone back into Eddies pants pocket.

“I gotta go sorry. Maddie needs my help.”

Buck nods his head over to the bar and gets up. 

“This was nice, Eddie.”

Buck leans down to Eddie and puts a soft kiss against his cheek. Eddie almost chokes on his own spit when he feels Bucks lips against his cheek. They’re soft and warm and so much better than Eddie had imagined. How would they feel on his own lips. 

Buck smiles at him and gestures for him to get up and walk back to the bar. Eddies heart is beating fast and he stumbles a bit when he gets up. They quickly walk back to the bar and Buck winks at him one more time before he disappears into the backroom again. 

Eddie’s still standing in the door, getting his phone out of his pocket. He opens the picture gallery and sees the pic Buck just took. 

Bucks head’s resting on Eddies shoulder and he’s got this big smile on his face. Eddie looks spooked and he chuckles at himself. He definitely didn’t expect this evening to turn into this. 

There’s a caption on the picture. Buck must have addedit after he took it. There’s a phone number and a caption saying “Call me? Evan”.

Eddie lets his finger run over the phone screen, stopping next to Bucks face.

Evan. 

Evan Buckley.

Eddie really likes the sound of that.


	4. Chapter 4

Eddies fingers are hovering over Bucks phone number for 2 minutes now. He’s still vibrating from the evening yesterday. He can still feel Bucks skin against his. He’d tried to form a coherent test message to Buck, but couldn’t really find the words. He wanted to see Buck again, he just didn’t know how to ask him. Frustrated he throws his phone on the coffee table in front of him.

“Don’t know what to write him?”

Chimney walks around the couch and lets himself fall down next to Eddie, shoulders bumping against each other.

“What, no. Why?”

“I bet 3 fire station kitchen cleaning duties that the one you want to text is the hot lifeguard from the bar yesterday?”

Eddie blushes and looks away.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Maddie knows though, 'cos she’s his sister.”

Eddies head snaps up and Chimney is laughing loudly.

“Yeah, she told me about you and Buck. That’s his name, isn’t it?”

Eddie looks over to the stairs, thinking about how he could flee out of this conversation.

“There’s no me and Buck. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chimney chuckles and rubs his fist against Eddie's shoulder.

“That’s why you two disappeared to the beach together last night?”

“He just wanted to show me something.” 

Eddie coughs and rubs his hands along his upper legs.

“Yeah, I bet he did.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and hopes someone’s coming and saving him from this talk, but the team is still busy downstairs cleaning the trucks. He was just taking a break when Chimney came and found him.

“So what about you and Maddie?” Eddie tries to change the topic.

Chims eyes sparkle and he’s got this dreamy expression on his face.

“Eddie, she’s an angel. And her smile does things to me, oh my god. I’m gonna see her again at the weekend. I promised to help her out at the bar.”

“Chimney, always there to help, huh.”

Eddie grins at the other man.

His friend wants to answer him but the fire alarm disrupts them and both men jump into action to get to the fire truck. They’re called to a car pile-up on Monroe Ave.

When they arrive at the scene, Eddie can see six cars that have bumped into each other. His Captain tells his team where to start and Eddie’s out with Chimney looking for victims. 

The first person they get to attend is a young man, heavily leaning against the door of a car. His head is bleeding and he’s holding at his arm, visibly being in pain. Eddie steps in front of him, carefully, trying to get his attention. Chim stops next to him, putting his medic bag on the floor.

“Sir, can you tell me what hurts.”

The young man slowly looks at Eddie, his eyes foggy and tired. So definitely a concussion.

“He - he said to wait here. He said help would come.”

Eddie carefully assesses the mans head wound. His finger roam over his scalp and he can clearly feel a lump on the backside of the mans head.

“Sorry, who said that, sir?”

The man points over to the other cars involved in the car crash.

“The tall man who got me out of the car.”

Eddie follows the man’s hand and looks towards the center of the car crash. That’s when he sees him. He’s helping a woman and a child out of a car. There’s smoke everywhere and Buck leads the pair out of the crash site to safety. 

When Eddie looks closer he can see blood smeared on Buck’s cheek and forehead. He can’t see if it’s Bucks or someone else's though. 

He looks back at the victim and then at Chimney. The urge of running over to make sure Buck is ok, is consuming his mind and his hands start to shake. His friend seems to sense his distress and takes over the victim by pressing a gauze against his head.

“Go Eddie. Make sure he’s alright.”

Eddie nods gratefully and runs over to where Buck is still helping the woman. Buck hasn’t seen him yet and is helping the women and the child to sit down on the grass on the side road.

Eddie can clearly see that Buck’s struggling with getting up again, when he leans himself against a street lamp. Buck looks over to the car pile and starts moving towards it when Eddie stops in front of him.

“Hey Buck, hey. What are you doing here?”

Bucks head snaps up too fast and a groan escapes his mouth.

“Eddie?”

Buck is still moving and Eddie carefully puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Yeah, it’s me, Buck. My station was called out for the car accident.”

Buck looks at him in confusion and tries to wriggle Eddie's hand off his shoulder.

“Right. I gotta go and help the others. There are still people trapped.”

Eddie doesn’t let Buck past him though, his grip on the other mans shoulder intensifying.

“Buck! Look at me.You’re hurt. Were you in the accident too?”

Buck finally stops moving and looks at Eddie.

“Yeah, I think someone bumped into my trunk? Eddie, we need to help those people.”

“Yes, but first let me check you out, you’re bleeding.”

Buck shakes his head.

“I’m not hurt Eddie, what are you talking about.”

Eddie slowly lifts his hand, looking for a sign in Bucks eyes that it’s not ok to touch the other man, but Buck follows his hand quietly and doesn't stop him. Eddie carefully touches his forehead, right under his hairline. 

Buck hisses out loud when Eddie's finger touch the open wound there. There’s still blood oozing out of it and his hand comes back bloody. Buck stares at it with wide eyes.

“Oh. I didn’t even feel this.”

Buck starts to sway a bit and Eddie grabs his shoulder again.

“Must be the adrenaline. Please sit down Buck and let me check you over, ok?”

Buck looks over to the car crash again.

“But - but I need to help Eddie. I need to help.”

Eddie gently moves Buck backward to sit him down on the grass and this time the other man lets himself be guided down.

“You already helped Buck. There are firefighters to do the job. Now it’s your turn to get checked out.”

“Thought you already did that at the beach.“

Buck puts this adorable frown on his face and Eddie wants to laugh but the other man wincing in pain again stops him.

His eyes suddenly look sad and Eddie mentally curses himself for not remembering that Buck used to be a firefighter. And once you’re a firefighter, you’ll always be a firefighter. The urge to help people runs in your blood. And Buck not being able to work in his job again must have left scars on him. Physically and mentally.

He grabs his medic bag and gets the needed supplies out. He gently dabs at the headwound to clean the blood away. He then puts a gauze on it and tapes it on his forehead.

Buck lets Eddie check him over and doesn’t complain when he shines a light into his eyes to check for a concussion. His pupils are equal and reacting to the light. Eddie's still concerned about whiplash, so he reaches for the neck brace but Buck stops him.

“Eddie, I promise I’m good.”

Eddie sighs and puts the neck brace away.

“You still going to come with me and get checked out in the hospital. You could have a concussion.” 

Buck tries to get up and Eddie helps him, his hands never leaving the other man's shoulder.

“I would know if I had a concussion, Eddie.”

“Humor me. Please do it for me. I want to be sure you’re ok.”

Buck looks at him, really looks at him for the first time they met on the scene. The blue of his eyes is clouded over a bit but Eddie still can see the sparkle there. Half of his face is covered in blood. Headwounds tend to bleed heavily, Eddie knows that but it still looks scary to see so much blood on Bucks face.

“Please, Buck.”

Buck nods and lets Eddie help him walk. Eddie grabs his radio.

“Diaz for Han. You got a spot left in the ambulance for another victim. Needs to get checked out for a concussion and possible whiplash.”

“Copy that Diaz. We got room to take you with us.”

The two men slowly make their way over to the ambulance and Eddie helps Buck to get in. He sits him down and puts the seatbelt around his chest, taking a seat next to him. Chimney smiles at them while checking over the other patient lying on the gurney. It’s the man Eddie and Chimney saw first when they arrived at the scene.

The man slowly lifts his head and looks at Buck.

“Hey man, thanks again for getting me out. Your head ok?”

Buck smiles and rubs at his head.

“Sure thing. Yeah, no worries my head’s fine.”

Eddie coughs slightly and Buck laughs again. 

“I’m fine Eddie.”

The drive to the hospital goes quick and Eddie follows Buck to the entrance where a nurse is taking over.

“Alright sir, we gonna get you to a doctor so you can get checked out.”

Buck nods and looks at Eddie who’s still holding at the other mans elbow, making sure he’s not falling over or anything.

“Thanks for getting me here.”

Eddie blinks at him and realizes his hands are still on Bucks arm.

“Right, of course. Hope you’re ok and please listen to the doctors.”

Buck smiles and winks at him.

“I’m always alright, Eds.”

Eddie watches Buck and the nurse disappears through the ER doors. Buck called him Eds and Eddie secretly smiles at himself. He’s still staring at the doors when he feels a bump against his upper arm.

“Hey loverboy, you really need to call him. Everyone can see your hearteyes for him.”

Eddie scoffs and looks one last time at the ER doors where Buck has disappeared through.

He wants to call him.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey Buck, how’s the pretty head?“

“Hey Buck, your head ok?“

“Hey Buck.“

Eddie deletes the message and tries again. He’s trying to find the right words to text Buck for ten minutes now but he can’t form a good sentence. He scratches at his head and sighs.

“Hi Buck, you up for a drink?“

Eddie stares at his phone again. Would he even be up for a drink? What if his head was more hurt than he thought. He’d called the hospital in the evening to check if Buck was still there, but the annoyed nurse on the phone didn’t give him any informations. Which Eddie knows is rigth, since he’s not a relative of Buck. He’s been lying awake all night though, thinking about texting Buck or not.

He’s still worried in the morning and decides to finally send Buck a quick message. The words just don’t want to come to him.

Eddies sighs again and deletes the message. Just when he wants to put his phone away, it rings and he almost drops it on the floor. Eddie stares at his phone in confusion and blinks at the caller ID showing up.

It’s Buck.

How does he have his number? Eddie doesn’t remember giving it to him. Eddies hands start to sweat and he giggles weirdly. He shakes his head at himself in annoyance. Get a grip Eddie and answer the call.

Just when his finger hovers over the caller button, the sounds stops. It goes to voice mail. Eddie curses and throws himself back on the couch. He really wants to talk to Buck. He doesn’t know why it’s so hard for him or actually he does know. He really likes Buck and he doesn’t want to ruin things with him.

The phone starts ringing again and Eddie lunges forward to grab his phone answering it immediately.

“Buck, hey how are you? Everything ok? How do you have my number?“

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut when he only hears Bucks breathing on the other side. How awkward was that.

“Hello to you too, Eddie.“

Eddie hears Buck laugh and his heart beats against his ribcage way too fast.

“Oh, oh yeah hi. Erm …“

“You ok over there, Eddie?“

Eddie coughs awkwardly and rubs his fingers along his thighs. God, he’s being weird and Buck’s gonna hang up on him any second.

“I’m … I’m good … yeah thanks.“

“Good. I asked Maddie to ask Chim for your number because I wanted to say thanks for helping me yesterday. I guess, I was a bit of a mess. Sorry.“

Eddie imagines Buck sitting on his couch in his appartment, alone, head bowed, sad eyes, thinking he’s been a burden to Eddie because he was involved in the accident. Eddie suddenly can‘t bare the thought of Buck being sad. He takes a deep breath and his voice comes out soft and calm.

“Hey, no it’s ok Buck, I am glad I was there to help you. You been a hero helping everyone else, even though you were hurt. How’s the head by the way, what did the doctor say?“

He hears Buck sigh on the other end.

“Slight concussion. I’ve got a hard head. I’m just annoyed that I can’t work for the rest of the week.“

Eddie chuckles. Of course he can’t sit still and rest. Buck always wants to be on the move, always wants to help.

“Right back into action, huh.“

Buck laughs and he sounds happier.

“Yeah you know me, I always need stuff to do. That’s why I was thinking if you and Chris might wanna come around on the weekend for a beach day? Hang out and stuff.“

For the first time Eddie thinks he can hear Buck being a bit insecure and it’s actually kinda cute. Eddies heart jumps a bit because he’d hang out with Buck every day, if he’s honest.

“Erm yeah I guess. I think Chris would love to see you again.“

And me too thinks Eddie but doesn’t say it out loud.

“Yeah that’s cool. Maybe we can jump on a surfboard or something. Just yeah, cool.“

“Sounds like a date then, eh I mean yeah we can do that, yes. Text me where and when, but we’re free the whole weekend, so whenever you want.“

“Cool. Then see you on the weekend Eddie. And thanks again.“

“Don’t mention it, someone has to lookt out for that pretty head of yours.“

Eddie bites at his lip when he finishes his sentence but he’s only getting Buck laugh as a reply. He hangs up and throws himself back at the couch, covering his eyes with his arms. Why is he always so awkward around Buck. That guy really had a number on him huh.

\--------------------- 

“Daaaadd, are you coming.“

Christopher‘s already standing at the door waiting for Eddie to go. He‘s checking his beach bag again, just in case, so he doesn‘t forget anything. He’s not mentionioning the four times he looked in the mirror to check that his hairs sits right. Chimne would make fun of him if he was here.

“Yeah buddy, I‘m coming.“

His son was all hyped up and excited when he told him that they’re gonna hang out with Buck on the beach on the weekend. He counted the days and Eddie has to admit he did so too.

He walks out oft he bathroom and grabs his bag. One last check on his hair again and then he’s opening the door for Chris to walk outside.

“Ready superman?“

Chris nods and smiles happily at his father. The drive over to the beach doesn’t take long and when Eddie parks the car in the carpark, he sees Buck waiting at the beach house. He quickly helps his sound oft he car and they walk over to where Buck is waiting.

As soon as Buck sees the two of them he runs over and grabs Chris underneath his arms and throws him around. Chris giggles and holds tight at Bucks arms.

“Hey kiddo, I missed you.“

Bucks eyes are wide and shine bright, he’s got a huge grin on his face. Eddie notices the bandaid on his head though and his cheek bone looks a bit swollen. Probably from where he hit his head on the steering wheel.

When Buck puts his son down again, the little boy frowns and point his finger to Bucks head.

“Are you ok Buck, you got a bandaid there?“

Buck kneels down in front of the kid.

“Don’t worry, just a little bump, my heads tough.“

He smiles again and bumps his son on the nose, who immediately lights up again. They both turn around and look over to where Eddie’s standing with the bag.

“Hi Eddie, nice to see you.“

Buck looks good with his swim shorts and the white shirt, he’s wearing. It’s sitting thight around his torso and Eddie can see his abs shining through. He blushes a bit and shakes himself to focus back on Buck.

“Hi Buck, thank you for inviting us.“

“You need help with your stuff?“

Buck points at Eddies bag.

“No, no I’m fine, you go ahead.“

Buck nods and crouches down in front of Chris again.

“Hop my little man, lets see if we’re faster than your daddy.“

Chris grins and carefuly climbs on Bucks back. Buck takes his crutches and starts running.

The boy is jumping up and down on Bucks back and Eddie can her his happy screams.

“Last one‘s the looser.“

Eddie chuckles and follows Buck and his son over to the beach.

When he reaches the water he sees Buck running along the beach jumping up when the water hits his feet. His son‘s still clinging onto his back and every time he jumps, he laughs loudly.

Christopher looks up and sees him standing there, his smile even bigger now.

“We won daddy, we won.”

Buck stops and walks over to where Eddie‘s standing in the sand.

“Your dad’s slower than a turtle isn’t he.”

Buck chuckles and brushes against Eddies shoulder with his hand.

Eddie looks at his shoulder where Buck just touched him and then back to Buck. The other man’s smiling brightly at him. Tiny water droplets are running down his cheeks, over his delicate jawline and down his throat and disppear under his shirt. Eddie catches a glimps of a tiny birthmark sitting there.

His son tugging at his shorts starles him and he looks at him.

“Dad, can I try some surfing, please, please.”

Eddie looks over to where the surfboards are lying in the sand.

“I’ll hold him the whole time Eddie. He’ll be safe. I promise.”

Buck doesn’t have to promise him. He knows he’ll keep his son safe. Chris walks in front of him and looks at him with his best puppy eyes.

“Please dad, please.”

Buck stands himself behind his son and gives him his best happy smile.

“Ah, I hate you two.”

Chris claps his hands together in joy.

“Oh, you love us, dad.”

Eddie tousles through his sons hair and presses a kiss on his forehead.

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

Buck winks at Eddie before he walks over to get the surfobards and a life vest for Christopher. Eddie puts the towels in the sand and sits himself down to keep an eye on his son and Buck.

Buck carefully puts the life vest on Chris, always talking to him. He must have made a joke because his son holds his tummy and can‘t stop laughing. Buck takes his hand and helps him going over to the water. He puts the surfboard in the water and lifts Christopher on it. He sits himself behind the kid and slowly paddles away, into the small waves at the shore.

His son holdss his hands into the water. He looks so happy and excited and it warms Eddies heart. Buck somehow always senses what the kid needs or wants. It’s beautiful to watch the two of them togehter. His son‘s grown to trust Buck really fast but Eddies doesn‘t blame him because he himself has that feeling of calmness and saftey when he’s around Buck.

When he looks back at the water he sees Buck lift his son onto the surfboard now so he‘s standning on it.

His son waves at him, eyes bright.

“Look daddy, look I’m a surfer.”

Eddie gets up from where he’s sitting, to have a better view at them.

“Yes, you are my little super man, you are. You’re doing awesome.”

Buck lets go of Christophers hands and the last wave takes the kid onto to beach. The board stops abruptly, but Buck‘s already there catching the boy, before he falls over. He lifts him up again and Chris climbs on his back. They both walk over to Eddie.

“This was amazing bud, you did so well.”

Chris is still super hyper and he can’t stop smiling.

“Did I look like a real surfer?

Eddie takes him into a hug and rubs at his back.

“You did buddie, you did.”

He lets go of Chris and hands him a bottle of water.

“Thanks Buck, this was awesome.”

Buck nods.

“No problem. He’s a natural. You wanna have a go, too?”

Eddies puts his hands in the air and waves around.

“What me? No I don’t think…”

“Oh yes daddy, I wanna see you surf.”

Eddie nervously rubs at his arms.

“I don’t think I can.”

“Buck can help you, can’t you Buck?”

Buck taps on Chris shoulder gently.

“Course I can, If your dad wants to try?”

Buck looks at him with questioning eyes.

“You wanna try?”

“Ok, ok i’ll give it try.”

Chris applauds him and sits down on the towel. Both men walk over to the surfboards and Buck takes his shirt off and throws it in the sand.

Eddie can’t help and look at him. He’s got goosebump on his skin, probably from the cold water earlier. A tiny droplet runs down his chest, all the way down to his navel. Eddie takes in a harsh breath when he can see a blue bruise running from his shoulder square over his chest, down to his abdomen.

Buck notices where Eddies looking at.

“Seatbealt. Looks worse than it is, doesnt even hurt anymore.”

Eddie wants to run his finger along the bruise, wants to check if there’s more damage. Broken ribs or anything.

“Eddie I’m fine.”

Bucks voice getting louder snaps him out of his trance.

“Good, that’s good. I’m glad.”

Suddenly Bucks hand appears in front of his face.

“Get on the surfboard, Diaz.”

Buck smiles and Eddie thinks the blue of the ocean makes his eyes look even bluer and more magical.

He takes the other mans hand and lets himself be helped on the board. His first surfing attempts are awkward and Eddie thinks he’s absolute awful in doing this. Bucks smiles and the other mans support makes him want to try again.

Suddenly there’s a wave crashing right in front of them and the movement of the water throws Eddie forward and off the surfboard. Buck lunges forward to stop Eddies fall but his foot gets stuck under the board and he falls backwards into the sand, followed by Eddie, who lands on top of him. Eddie opens his eyes and looks at Buck the other man’s eyes are wide and so so blue, it’s like the ocean is mirroring it‘s color in them. Eddie feels the water washing over his legs. His legs which are resting inbetween Bucks. He can feel Bucks hip move under him, his abs being strained against the weight on top of him and Eddie remembers the bruise on the other man’s chest. Bucks arms lie rigth and left, next to his body. Eddie’s arms are in the sand right next to Bucks head. The other man looks at him with a smile. His lips are pink, so pink and Eddie wishes he’d know how they taste. There’s those tiny freckles around his nose and Eddie thinks Buck has the prettiest eyelashes he’s ever seen. Tiny water drops are clinging onto them and sparkle in the sun. He can see another scar on his forehead probably from work. It’s all healed and looks white and faint against his skin. Eddie slowly lifts his one hand and holds it against Bucks cheek. It’s like the other man’s skin is sparkling with the sea salt sitting on it. Buck is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Eddie feels the other man move underneath him, his hips grinding against him. Buck licks at his lips and it’s driving Eddie insane.

“Eddie.“

Bucks voice is soft and barely a whisper. His chest feels tight and he just realizes now that they’re both topless and their skin touches the other. He can almost feel Bucks heartbeat against his. Buck moves his fingers to Eddies wrist holding it gently. He looks at him with bright eyes.

“Daddy, Buck are you two ok?”

Christopher appears next to the two men and rips them out of their little moment. Eddies tongue feels heavy though and he can’t get a word out, instead he hears Buck answer. His voice making his chest vibrating against his.

“We’re good kid. The sand softened our fall. Guess your dad needs to practice a bit more.”

Buck laughs and Eddie can feel his stomach muscles move under him.

“Can you maybe, get up. You’re heavier than you look.”

Eddie blinks at Buck confused, still being mesmerized by the other man’s presence.

“Oh, yeah sorry. Thanks for cushioning my fall, I guess.”

“No, problem.”

Eddie carefully shuffles backwards and gets up. The holds his hand towards Buck and helps him get up.

They’re both wet and full of sand.

“What about we jump in the water a bit to get the sand off and then we’ll get some ice cream? How does that sound.“

Christophers takes his fathers hand and his other finds its way over to Bucks hand. Holding them both tight he pulls them over to the water. Eddie thinks this might be a bit too much for Buck, but when he looks over to the other man he’s smiling and follows his sons lead. Eddie thinks it’s a nice picture. Buck being a part of this, being a part of their family.

Buck lets go of the boys hand and starts splashing water around and hits Eddie right in the face. Christopher screams and laughs loudly. They all start to splash water around till they’re all wet and tired and their stomachs hurt from all the laughing and they decided to call it a day and head home in a bit.

Eddie packing the bags already when Buck comes back with three big ice cream cups. They’d built a sandcastle earlier and Chris is sitting next to it. Buck hands the ice cream to Chris, who excitingly licks at it. 

The other man then walks over to where Eddies packing their stuff togehter and motions for him to sit down and take the ice cream. Buck sits himself down next to Eddie. Chris is couple of meters in front of them hungrily licking at his icream and watching the ocean.

Eddie gently bumps his leg against Bucks.

“Thank you Buck. You made this one really happy.”

Buck turns his head over to Eddie.

“Just this one?” He points over to Chris and then puts his hand on Eddies thigh.

“Or this one aswell?”

Eddie swallows hard. Buck’s incredibly close to him now, he can see the tiny sand grains sitting on his skin. He blushes and nervously licks at his ice cream.

“Eddie.”

He looks back at Buck and he’s so close. His eyes are so blue. Buck licks at his lips and Eddie wants to kiss him so badly.

He puts his hand over Bucks, that is still resting on his thigh.

“Yeah, this one too.”

“Yeah?”

Christopher yelling for them, interrupts them again and both men get up to bring the bags over to the car. Buck carefully buckles Chris into the car and says his goodbyes.

“Thanks again, Buck.”

“No problem, it was a great day. You’re kid is great.”

Buck leans forward and before Eddie can react, the other mans lips connect with his cheek. They’re soft and warm and Buck smells like sand and sea water. 

“See you, Eds.”

Buck slowly moves his face away and winks at him one more time before he walks over to his own truck. Eddie gently taps at his cheek where moments before Bucks lips had been resting. 

He feels like he’s in a kind of trance when he watches Buck drive away and he thinks he might be in love. 

In love with Buck.


End file.
